Storage of selected e-mails including attachments in document management system

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method and system are provided for storing selected e-mails, including the content of the e-mail and attachments, in a document management system. A user initiates storage of the e-mail by a user-actuated control that is added to the interface of his e-mail application. The e-mail is then copied, indexed and stored in a separate document in the document management system, and attachments to the e-mail are embedded in the separate document. The font and graphics of the e-mail may be stored in the separate document as they as they appeared in the original document. The text of the e-mail may be stored in the binary format that is native to a word processor associated with the document management system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application is based on and claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application Serial No. 60/420,764, filed on Oct. 23, 2002,entitled “Storage of Selected E-Mails in Document Management System” bythe same inventors of the present application. The present applicationis also based on and claims priority to U.S. Provisional ApplicationSerial No. 60/415,205, filed on Oct. 1, 2002, also entitled “Storage ofSelected E-Mails in Document Management System,” and also by the sameinventors of the present application. The content of these provisionalapplications is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to storage of electronic mail and,more particularly, to storage of selected e-mails in a documentmanagement system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] As is well known in the art, e-mail communications are oftenmanaged by e-mail applications and stored in these applications forlater retrieval. Examples of such e-mail applications include MICROSOFTOUTLOOK and LOTUS NOTES.

[0004] Documents of other types, e.g., word processing documents, areoften separately managed by a document management system (“DMS”), suchas IMANAGE™, PC DOCS™ or FILENET™. The word processing documents may becreated and edited in a word processing program such as MICROSOFT WORD™or WORDPERFECT™.

[0005] E-mail communications are often received and placed in a user'spersonal electronic mailbox. Often, a user's personal electronic mailboxis not easily accessible to others, nor is such ease of access desiredby the user.

[0006] In some cases, the user may wish to make an e-mail and itsattachments available to others without making the others privy to theremainder of the user's personal mailbox. In this case, the user mightsend a single e-mail to all those who need it. Such a task might be timeconsuming, especially if the user would like to send the message tomultiple recipients. Moreover, at a later date, others to whom thee-mail was not sent might have need for the same e-mail and itscorresponding attachments. Additional time would need to be spent foradditional users to obtain this e-mail and its attachments.

[0007] With the vast number of e-mail communications and correspondingattachments received, it is also desirable to organize these e-mails andtheir attachments in a manner that they can be readily located, by boththe original recipient and by others.

[0008] Some computer systems attempt to address these problems byallowing e-mails to be stored in a document management system. However,these applications store the e-mail message separate from theattachments and thus do not preserve the relationship between theattachments and the e-mail to which the attachments were associated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The invention provides a computer-implemented method, storedprogram and system, for storing a selected e-mail, including itsattachment(s), in a single file in a document management system.

[0010] In one embodiment of the invention, a user-actuated control isprovided in an e-mail application. When actuated, this control causesthe e-mail content and its attachments to be stored in a single file ina document management system.

[0011] The e-mail content may be stored in the binary format that isnative to the word processor that is associated with the documentmanagement system. This separate file may be created by a wordprocessing program that is associated with the document managementsystem. Attachments to the e-mail may be embedded into the separate filealong with the e-mail content.

[0012] The separate file, including the e-mail and attachments, may bemanaged by the document management system. The file may use the samefont, graphics and other formatting as in the original e-mail. Theseparate file may be indexed in the document management system. Aseparate index of the attachments to the e-mail may also be placedwithin the separate file.

[0013] One advantage of the present invention is that it may store aselected e-mail and its attachments in a single document that is managedby a document management system.

[0014] Another advantage of the present invention is that it may storethe content of the selected e-mail in the same binary format that isnative to the word processing program, thus enhancing the operationalefficiency of the system.

[0015] A still further advantage of the present invention is that it maystore the content of the selected e-mail in the same fonts, graphics andother formatting as in the e-mail, thus preserving the integrity of thee-mail.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016]FIG. 1 is a computer system embodying one embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0017]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of certain software in a computersystem.

[0018]FIG. 3 is a screen showing the user interface to e-mailapplication that is displaying an e-mail, its attachment, and varioususer controls configured in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention.

[0019]FIG. 4 is a dialog box for receiving a name for the separatedocument created by one embodiment of the invention.

[0020]FIG. 5 is a dialog box for indexing the separate document createdby one embodiment of the invention into a document management system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0021] The present invention can be applied to various e-mailapplications, such as LOTUS NOTEST™ and MICROSOFT™ OUTLOOK™, to storeselected e-mails and embedding their attachments into a separatedocument managed by a document management system, such as PC DOCS™,IMANAGE™, or FILENET™.

[0022] The present invention can be carried out using a computer with ane-mail application, such as LOTUS NOTEST™ or MICROSOFT OUTLOOK™. Thecomputer may be a personal computer or any other type of computer. Itmay be a stand alone system or a networked system.

[0023] A typical computer that implements the invention is shown assystem 100 in FIG. 1. The system 100 may include a central processor105, a main memory 110, an input/output controller 115, a keyboard 120,a pointing device 125 such as a mouse, track ball, pen device or thelike, a display or screen device 130, a mass storage device 135, such asa hard disk, removable floppy disk, optical disk, magneto-optical diskor flash memory, a memory 136, a network interface card or controller140, and a modem 145. The system 100 may communicate with other systemsthrough a system bus 110, a network interface card 140, a modem 145, orthe like, or through a combination of these sub-systems.

[0024] As reflected in FIG. 2, the system 100 may include severalsoftware applications, such as a document management system 205, ane-mail application 201, and a word processing application 203. Thekeyboard 120 and/or pointing device 125 may be used for inputtingnecessary information to these applications and for controlling them,all as is well known.

[0025]FIG. 3 is a screen showing the user interface to e-mailapplication that is displaying an e-mail, its attachment, and varioususer controls configured in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention. As shown in FIG. 3, a window 300 displays e-mail content,including a header 330 and text 335. Graphics and other elements couldalso be part of the e-mail content 325, as is well known.

[0026] The window 300 also shows an icon 340 representing an attachmentto the e-mail, as is also well known. Although only one attachment isshown, it is to be understood that there could be several attachments,in which case each would typically be shown as a separate icon.

[0027] The screen in FIG. 3 also includes two user-actuated controls, an“Add E-Mail to DMS” button 350 and an “Add Attachment to DMS” button360. Although not shown, the screen could also include an “Add E-MailMessage Only” button, as will later be described.

[0028] The “Add E-Mail to DMS” button 350 may be associated using wellknown programming techniques with a software routine that is actuatedupon activation of the button. One such technique is to associate thebutton with a macro that is managed by the word processing application203.

[0029] Upon actuation of the “Add E-Mail to DMS” button, the macro maycopy the e-mail content and any attachments to it into a new container,such as a new word processing document. The content could include thetext and header, as well as any other information that is within thee-mail. The fonts and other formatted aspects of the e-mail content maybe fully preserved during this process.

[0030] The new container may also be created in the binary format thatis native to the word processing program or it may be created in anotherformat.

[0031] The attachments might be illustrated in the new container asicons, just like they are illustrated in the original e-mail. If thereare many attachments to the e-mail, the macro might also create an indexof the attachments and embed that index into the new container. Theindex might consists of the file names of the attachments.

[0032] Once the container is created and filled with the e-mail contentand attachments, a dialog box might be presented to the user, asking theuser for a name for the new container, as reflected in FIG. 4. Thedialog box might propose a default name for the user's acceptance, suchas the name in the “Subject” section of the e-mail content. This is alsoreflected in FIG. 4. (It proposes “Division Meeting” which is the namein the “Subject” section in the e-mail content, as shown in FIG. 2.)

[0033] The macro might next check to see if the user has already loggedonto the document management system. If not, it might activate thelog-on screen of the document management system, as shown in FIG. 5 Theuser might then log in, e.g., by entering his user name and password andclicking the “Logon” button.

[0034] The macro might then activate the indexing system of the documentmanagement system, so as to allow the new container to be indexed in thedocument management system. FIG. 6 illustrates an indexing dialog boxthat might be shown. In other document management systems, a fuller setof indexing fields might be presented, all as is well known.

[0035] Instead of activating the “Add E-Mail to DMS” button 350, theuser might instead activate the “Add Attachment to DMS” button 360. Thiswould function in a similar way to button 350, except that the systemwould only store the attachments in the container, without the e-mailcontent. In one embodiment, the system might offer to store eachattachment in a separate container, with a separate name and separateindexing in the document management system. The system could also allowthe user to select which of the attachments the user wishes to store inthe document management system.

[0036] The software needed to implement the invention might be stored ona computer-readable medium, such as a CD ROM or hard drive. The softwarethat is stored on the media might merely be that amount of software thatis needed to add to an existing computer system that already has ane-mail application, document management application and a wordprocessing application. In this event, the software might merely consistof a macro for the word processing program and, perhaps, relatedsoftware that loads the macro, a user-actuated control in the e-mailapplication, and a map between the two.

[0037] Although not shown, a third button could also be provided that,when activated, would store only the e-mail content into the container,without attachments.

[0038] In the alternative, only a single button or other user-actuatedcontrol could be provided that, once actuated, allows the user to laterselect whether the user wants to store the e-mail content and itsattachments in a single container, in separate containers, or to storeonly the e-mail content or attachments in a container.

[0039] Although buttons have thus-far been described as performingcertain functions, it is to be understood that other user-operatedcontrols could be used instead or in addition, such as menu entries orkeyboard shortcuts.

[0040] Although reference has thus-far been made to copying andembedding the attachments into the separate container, it is to beunderstood that the concept of embedding has been intended in itslogical sense, not its physical sense. Thus, although the attachmentscould physically be stored in the container, they could also be storedin separate files with links to them being embedded in the container.The container itself could be a single file or multiple files managedunder a single name.

[0041] Although reference has been made to a word processing programbeing associated with the document management system, it is to beunderstood that other types of document processing applications could beused instead or in addition, such as a presentation application (e.g.,Power Point), a spread sheet application (e.g., Excel), or a graphicsapplication (e.g., Visio). In each case, the format of the containerinto which the e-mail content and/or attachments are copied may benative to the application that is contemplated to be used with thecontainer, with appropriate indexing being done in the documentmanagement system. In some situations, there might be severalapplications that could manage the container. In this situation, theuser might be given the choice at an appropriate moment as to whichapplication to use as the native application for the container anddocument management system.

[0042] The present invention has been described with reference tocertain exemplary embodiments. However, it will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art that it is possible to embody the invention informs other than these embodiment. This may be done without departingfrom the spirit of the invention. The embodiments are merelyillustrative and should not be considered restrictive in any way. Thescope of the invention is given by the appended claims, rather than thepreceding description, and all variations and equivalents that fallwithin the range of the claims are intended to be embraced.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for storing thecontent of a selected email along with an attachment to the selectede-mail in a container that is managed by a document management system,comprising: providing a user-actuated control in an e-mail application;receiving information indicating that the user-actuated control has beenactivated; in response to the receiving, copying the content and theattachment in a new container that is separate from the e-mail; andindexing the container in the document management system.
 2. The methodof claim 1 wherein the copying is performed under the control of a macrothat is run in a word processing application.
 3. The method of claim 1wherein the user-actuated control is a button.
 4. The method of claim 1wherein the content of the selected e-mail is formatted and wherein thecontent is copied in the container with the same formatting.
 5. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the container is indexed in the documentmanagement system to be read by a document processing application havinga native file format and wherein the container is formatted in thenative file format of that application.
 6. The method of claim 5 whereinthe document processing application is a word processing program.
 7. Themethod of claim 1 further including generating a default name for thecontainer and presenting this default name to the user for acceptance.8. The method of claim 7 wherein the e-mail has a subject line andwherein the default name is the same as the subject line.
 9. The methodof claim 1 further comprising creating an index of the attachments andembedding that index in the container.
 10. A computer readable mediumcontaining a computer program that causes a computer loaded with thatprogram and other software to implement the following process: providinga user-actuated control in an e-mail application; receiving informationindicating that the user-actuated control has been activated; inresponse to the receiving, copying the content and the attachment in anew container that is separate from the e-mail; and indexing thecontainer in the document management system.
 11. The medium of claim 10wherein the program further causes the copying to be performed under thecontrol of a macro that is run in a word processing application.
 12. Themedium of claim 10 wherein the program further causes the user-actuatedcontrol to be a button.
 13. The medium of claim 10 wherein the programfurther causes the content of the selected e-mail to be formatted andthe content to be copied in the container with the same formatting. 14.The medium of claim 10 wherein the program further causes the containerto be indexed in the document management system to be read by a documentprocessing application having a native file format and the container tobe formatted in the native file format of that application.
 15. Themethod of claim 14 wherein the document processing application is a wordprocessing program.
 16. The medium of claim 10 wherein the programfurther causes generating a default name for the container andpresenting this default name to the user for acceptance.
 17. The mediumof claim 10 wherein the e-mail has a subject line and wherein theprogram further causes the default name to be the same as the subjectline.
 18. The medium of claim 10 wherein the program further causescreating an index of the attachments and embedding that index in thecontainer.
 19. A computer system for storing the content of a selectede-mail including an attachment to the selected e-mail in a containerthat is managed by a management system, comprising mass storagecontaining: an e-mail application, a document management application aword processing application; and a software routine that implements thefollowing process when loaded: providing a user-actuated control in ane-mail application; receiving information indicating that theuser-actuated control has been activated; in response to the receiving,copying the content and the attachment in a new container that isseparate from the e-mail; and indexing the container in the documentmanagement system.
 20. The computer system of claim 19 wherein thesoftware routine when loaded further causes the copying to be performedunder the control of a macro that is run in a word processingapplication.
 21. The computer system of claim 19 wherein the softwareroutine when loaded further causes the user-actuated control to be abutton.
 22. The computer system of claim 19 wherein the software routinewhen loaded further causes the content of the selected e-mail to beformatted and the content to be copied in the container with the sameformatting.
 23. The computer system of claim 19 wherein the softwareroutine when loaded further causes the container to be indexed in thedocument management system to be read by a document processingapplication having a native file format and the container to beformatted in the native file format of that application.
 24. Thecomputer system of claim 19 wherein the document processing applicationis a word processing program.
 25. The computer system of claim 19wherein the software routine when loaded further causes generating adefault name for the container and presenting this default name to theuser for acceptance.
 26. The computer system of claim 19 wherein thee-mail has a subject line and wherein the software routine when loadedfurther causes the default name to be the same as the subject line. 27.The computer system of claim 19 wherein the software routine when loadedfurther causes creating an index of the attachments and embedding thatindex in the container.